Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sunday, April 6th 2008

Sites and sounds and recap of the day...The Philippines is a very religious place of peaceful and happy people. There is a very wealthy business district where buildings scrape the sky, and condo developments rival even the best of Atlanta or New York. We received a warm welcome similar to family members, and we were handsomely greeted by the pastor's wife as we came in. We went to a church service in this part of town that was very refreshing. someone opened the door to greet us, and spaghetti, rice, and fried chicken were on the menu. The people were excited to hear about the missionary work we were about to do. Afterwards we ate at McDonald's, whereUnlike McDonald's in America, the proportions were small, a small drink in America was medium here.

At the orphanage...The Philippines is also a land of contrasts. The other side of the street is third world. A place where houses are cobbled together with whatever scraps can be found, and the water supply for most can also be the sewage. Here we ministered to poor youth in an orphanage and church in an impoverished area of town. Many youth prayed to receive Christ there.

On the street...The streets are buzzing with the sights and sounds of fast whizzing cars and the popular mode of transportation among the poor, the Jeepney. The Jeepney is a remnant from the by-gone war days. It is basically a converted, very creatively decorated, WWII era Jeep. The Jeepney drivers have one thing in mind, getting their passengers from one place to the next even if that means running you off the road.

Traffic here is quite scary from an American perspective. People here drive extremely aggressively. If you want to get into a lane just move the cars in the adjacent lane into the next lane.

The Filipino people...The Filipino people wherever you find them are receptive and always happy to talk and hear about Jesus. The Filipino people seem to be convinced that Jesus is the answer and the solution for everything. In fact, just to prevent people from peeing on a wall outside the home, they paint a picture of Jesus.

We ended the day, taking in the sights, and smells of a Filipino dinner and praying about tomorrow's activities.